Ten Questions. Ten Answers. And one Big Surprise in the audience …

CHALK

produced by Playpen Theatre

CHALK is a hilarious and unexpected one-man show guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages. Chalk invites audiences into a hand-drawn world where imagination is made real and anything can happen. Charlie Chaplin meets Harold and the Purple Crayon in this feel-good romantic romp sure to “Draw You In.”

Show  Info:

• Tue Feb 16, 2016 | 8:50PM
• Sat Feb 20, 2016 | 1:40PM
• Wed Feb 24, 2016 | 8:50PM
• Tue Mar 01, 2016 | 5:30PM
• Fri Mar 04, 2016 | 6:50PM

Kraine Theater New York, NY $5/$12/$15

Answers by Alex Curtis
(Performer & Creator)

1. Forget the PR version. When you’re talking to your friends, how do you explain this show to them?
Alex: I always struggle with this. I tell them it’s about moving on and finding your happiness. The truth is that I made this show after a breakup of a serious relationship and a few failed less serious relationships after that. So, when I was making the show I was really drawing from my own experience in the dating scene. After that breakup, I was really, really lonely. So as I started meeting new people, I kept looking for them to solve my loneliness – and that just doesn’t work. No one wants that kind of responsibility. Eventually I realized that the only person who could solve my loneliness was me. I needed to be happy with myself first, then I could meet other people. Shel Silverstein’s The Missing Piece and the Big O has a really similar message. So, anyway, I took that journey and then translated it into a one-man silent clown play. Because it’s silent and because it’s clown, all of this isn’t in there literally. Actually, I hope that it hits different people in different ways and that everyone who comes takes something from it that makes sense to them and their lives. But this is what the show is for me.

2. Here’s a scenario: After the show some audience members go have a drink.  What’s the part of the show you hope they’re discussing?
Alex: The last third of the show. To give the quick and dirty version of the plot – the play starts with a clown, alone. Then he meets this woman (she’s invisible) who comes into his world, and really rocks it. He falls in love with her, but then she leaves. And then he has to deal with that. And it’s all the stuff after that I hope that really touches people. There’s a dance, some puppetry work. Things I think express the theme in a really lovely way. And then the ending. That’s been really hard to pin down in this new version of the play – so if people fell in love with the ending particularly – it would be hugely gratifying.

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?
Alex: I’d say plot. As much as for me the play has a strong thematic element – since I don’t have words to just say it all outright, it gets put into the story. That makes continuously moving the story forward really important and hopefully the thematic stuff comes naturally out of that.

4. In rehearsals, read-thrus, or prior incarnations, what’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you (or the team) the most proud?
Alex: There have been a lot of things…
After the first performance, a good friend of mine who had been going through a hard time rushed up to me to say how much CHALK had moved her. She was so happy. That moment, and others where my goofy clown play really connects with people, has been incredible.
Another moment, I was asking friends who’d seen it if they might write testimonials about CHALK that I could use for publicity material. One friend wrote, “…if you’ve ever had your heart strings pulled by a Pixar short, you’ll fall in love with CHALK.” I love Pixar. I think they’re really smart, and I love what they do. It’s such a magical balance of play and heart. To have something I made mentioned in the same sentence as my idols – that made me really proud.

5. If money and resources (and even reality) were no object what is the most lavish, luxurious, pointless prop, costume, effect – anything – that you would spend money on for this show?
Alex: That’s hard, since so much of the charm of clown comes from its simplicity and the room that leaves for the audiences imagination. BUT! Oh, oh, I got something…
If the invisible woman could be a hologram of Jessica Rabbit, that would be amazing. She saunters into the space… One of the big tasks of this newest draft of CHALK has been to specify this invisible person’s physical life so she stands on her own more as a character, and we can really get her place in the story. But if we could SEE that, see HER, through some kind of 3D projection, problem solved. And so cool. Things could appear as she interacts with them…which would make the world of the play even bigger… I’m spinning with ideas for what I’d do with that production… It would be really exciting.

6. What’s the one thing you’re looking forward to regarding the FRIGID Festival itself?
Alex: I’m looking forward to meeting the audience. Clown isn’t a 4th wall style; in the show, I look out and connect with the audience constantly. I’ve been really fortunate to have friends coming in to watch rehearsals and I’ve been able to bounce off them in the rehearsal process. But clowns are really great at inspiring community, I think. Which is why it’s so wonderful to have programs out there like Clowns Without Borders, where clowning can bring a sense of joy and companionship to people in really difficult circumstances. I’m looking forward to sharing a theater with a bunch of strangers, and then hopefully meeting some of them at a bar and talking like we know one another.

7. Is there a scene, a moment, a gesture … anything at all in the show that you anticipate may get a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?
Alex: There’s this bit in the middle of the show where I keep trying to hang things up on my coat rack, but then everything keeps falling down. I can imagine that landing really differently depending on the audience. I’ve done this show a few times and one of my best audiences was when I performed for a kids camp. The room was two-thirds kids between six and eight, and then the other third was a mix of adults. The camp counselors were in there teens and then the camp admin people were thirties and up. That show was magic. The kids ate up all the silly parts of the play, and then the adults got the parts that were more emotional. By themselves grown ups can be sort of uptight sometimes, but kids are so free in their reactions. That’s a part of the play that’s pretty silly, so I think it will depend on how loose the audience is. (Or how young at heart!)

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?
Alex: The play itself doesn’t have any dialogue. But I think the curtain speech is pretty good. I like to know where the fire exits are…

9. What’s the last thing you usually do before the beginning of a show?
Alex: Triple check my props. If I start the show and don’t have something, there’s no going back and I’m screwed. Also, for this run my girlfriend (we’ve been together a year – she’s wonderful!) will be helping backstage. So we’ll probably have a moment for a kiss and “break legs!” before we start, which will be a great way to get the show started.

10. You scan the audience and you see a face that stops you dead in your tracks – who is it? And why are you shocked?
Alex: My first thought was the ex-girlfriend I mentioned who broke my heart years ago. It wasn’t a good break up, and we don’t speak anymore. To see her in the audience would be a shock for sure.
My next thought was Harrison Ford. I love Star Wars and Indiana Jones has been a hero of mine forever. Then for him to be watching my clown show, c’mon, that’d be incredible.
I’ve also invited Bill Irwin and David Shiner, who are the famous clowns performing Old Hats at the Signature Theater right now. I love their work, and I know it’s a long shot, but I really hope they come.

Well, Alex, you never know – even a long shot is a shot!  So be it Bill Irwin and David Shiner … or even Harrison Ford … there’s a chance they’ll make it out to FRIGID to see what you’ve created with CHALK.
Thanks so much for answering our questions, Alex!

The rest of you – don’t forget to check out CHALK.

 -*-*-

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 10th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 16-March 6. All shows run 60 minutes, or less. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at http://www.horsetrade.info/  

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Naked Brazilian 

Benefiting: United Nations Environment Programme
Written and Performed by Gustavo Pace
Directed by Lou Liberatore

“Struggling against his father’s wishes to become a lawyer, a young man journeys from Rio to NYC to fulfill his own dreams to become a clown.”

Show Times:

• Tues 6/5/12 – 6:00pm
• Fri 6/8/12 – 8:30pm
• Sun 6/10/12 – 4:00pm
• Sun 6/17/12 – 3:00pm

Gustavo Pace (Writer/Performer)

[Editor's Note: Gustavo - who is Brazilian - invited me to Americanize his answers, but I thought they were charming as is. I'm sure you'll agree.] 

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?

Gustavo:  Naked Brazilian have different meanings like for example the sexy naked in the car that I experienced, also to get the soul naked and some other meanings that you need to see the show to understand. If I am going to be naked? That you need to come to check what happen. This is what I can tell about the show: Dad says, be a lawyer I say, be a clown What’s a boy to do? (father doesn’t always know best).

Diánna Martin’s Question
If you were going to invite 5 people (from the past or present) to see your show – who would you invite … and why?

Gustavo:
My father: Because I want to know if he will still talk with me after listening to this stories. I think he would be disappointed in the son he has. Some weeks ago he asked me: What this show Naked Brazilian about? I said; sorry Dad, but I am not ready to tell what is about…

Criminal Law teacher: I think he would shoot me if he see his scene in the play, but I want to see if he maybe changes the way he deal with his students…

Bruno: I can’t say why but if you go to the show you going to understand … The only thing I can tell is: “If you have questions of your sexuality don’t look for the answers in your fathers car.”

Matt Hoverman: Because he supported me a lot with this project and he is an inspiring artist.

Marx Brothers: I talk on the show about the dream to be like them and also the desire to become a Clown and make people laugh.

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve made for your art and was it worth it?

Gustavo: It was to give up Law School after graduating in Brazil and live now in New York only with my passion and dream to be an actor. It is worth [it]. I am happy here in New York and being able to tell stories that I am not “allowed” to do in Brazil.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and can you share it with us?

Gustavo:  I discover that I really want to become an actor and Clown and I love entertaining people and also that it’s important to accept who you are with all the problems and prejudices that we have. I think I found more my inner voice and my true need to tell stories. My director Lou Liberatore was great on the process and essential for the play. I really admire him.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?

Gustavo: I hope the audience will think about the importance of following their dreams and taking risks in life. The risks can be dangerous, but might lead you for a happier life than just having a security boring job. As the quote said “ Leap..and the net will appear”

___

Planet Connections runs from May 30 – June 24 at The Bleecker Street Theater located at 45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY. To purchase tickets to this or any of the shows click here.

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Barry Lubin as Grandma

I’ve known Grandma The Clown for as long as I’ve known the Big Apple Circus.  Grandma is as much a part of that circus arena as the sawdust and the trapeze rigging.  But it wasn’t until I saw the PBS documentary CIRCUS that I got to know Barry Lubin – the man underneath the gray wig and pearls.  Meeting Barry Lubin through the six part series was a wonderful way to see exactly how much work goes into making people laugh year after year.  It’s no easy job, and the life of a clown is serious business.

Last week I spoke with Mark Gindick about Wing-Man which opens tonight and plays this weekend as part of The Brick’s Amuse Bouche 2011: A NY Clown Theatre Festival Hors d’Oeuvre.   Today I follow up that interview by speaking with Barry, who directed the show.  I’m thrilled that he was able to share his story with us and give us a glimpse into his world.  Read on to find out what it takes to be Mark’s Wing-Man, how Barry makes a 20,000 person venue feel intimate, and how getting out of his own way is when the magic happens.  

For those who enjoyed the PBS documentary “Circus” – many people were fortunate enough to watch as you and Mark Gindick formed a strong creative team, and worked on new routines together. As one of those people who enjoyed that documentary I’m thrilled to see you come together for “Wing-Man”. Tell me how meeting each other at The Big Apple Circus changed your creative paths.

BL: Actually I met Mark when he attended Clown College where he was a student and I was an instructor. Then we became friends. I saw Mark doing a performance of his show, “How to Be a Man” at SUNY Purchase and I was immediately drawn to this theater piece and in fact asked Mark if I could be a part of it in some way, on the creative end. That began a collaboration which led to the Big Apple Circus offering him the part of Grandma for the 2001/2002 tour. Just to clarify, Grandma is my creation, and since 2001 the Big Apple Circus and I collaborate on a licensing deal in which another performer does the tour once the show closes at Lincoln Center. Mark was the very first licensee and remains to this day the go-to guy to play Grandma. In fact, a few years ago Mark’s mother asked me if I was going to hire Mark again to play Grandma. She said, “He does you better than you.” Once Mark was offered a role in the Big Apple Circus as himself, it was a natural progression, and our great pleasure to work together on various clown pieces in the show which was a part of the PBS Special, and again this past season.

You’ve created an iconic Circus Clown – Grandma. Now you’re directing Mark – someone who you’ve worked closely in the Big Apple Circus. As your creative circle widens do you see yourself mentoring other young and gifted talents? Directing more shows? Moving on to other levels of stagecraft? What excites and delights you about the future?

I am so pleased to have collaborated with Mark on Wing-Man. I would rather call myself a collaborator than director in this production. I believe Mark and I think alike, comedy-wise and that makes it relatively easy to throw ideas back and forth with each other’s routines. I love to work with other clowns, and I do plan to mentor and direct clowning much more once I retire from the Big Apple Circus. I have had the pleasure already of working with some amazing talent, and I certainly hope to continue. It is important, in my thinking, to pass along what I know, and also what I don’t know after all these years in this profession.

There’s got to be a different energy coming from a theatre audience as there is from a circus audience. What are the challenges of putting together a dynamic show in each environment? What works in the big tent that doesn’t work on the smaller stage? Or is it relatively the same?

A clown, like any other performer, must adapt to the venue, the environment, the gig. It is what makes live entertainment for clowns so exciting, and also at times, so difficult. I just did a theatrical circus in a beautiful opera house, which holds 250 people for Circus Sarasota. It was such a pleasure to appear in that intimate a setting, and to work in a very different way than the theater in the round style of Big Apple Circus. It can be daunting to have people so close, but after figuring it out, it became a daily pleasure to work this way. It was a simple concept show, with four very talented acts on a relatively small stage, and one transvestite clown, and a host. I turned the opera house into my very own playground. Right now I am in rehearsals for the Big Apple Circus, and it is time to turn that into my very own playground. It is harder to play in the round, and it is very different to play further away from the audience. Just like I did when I was on Ringling, I cut down that distance whenever possible by working in the audience. It is amazing, but I have found it to be true, that you can effectively communicate with everyone in a 20,000-seat arena. I learned that I could do that while watching David Larible when he was performing with Ringling, and I knew I had to try it solo after having done it when I started my career as part of “clown alley” on Ringling. Clowning requires adapting to each environment. The bottom line is, this little opera house in Florida, the Big Apple Circus, and Madison Square Garden can all qualify as my own personal playground. Not all material works the same in each of those venues, but my character must resonate with the audience or it won’t work in any of those places.

Bad acting is painful to sit through, but bad clowning is positively mortifying for an audience. There is a fine line between brilliant clowning and someone just making a fool out of themselves – and some performers unfortunately never catch on. You and Mark are very successful at not only putting a crowd at ease but winning them over. Tell me how you know when you’ve found that “sweet spot” in a routine – when you know you’ve hit on something that will bring the crowd to its feet.

Thank you for the very kind words and the kudos. Mark and I are successful at winning over audiences because we’ve spent a certain amount of time not knowing how, but wanting to accomplish this very badly. Failure is the best teacher, and desire and ambition and love gets you past the pain that comes with failure. I can tell you what I know about Mark, because it is far easier than analyzing what makes me successful. Mark is a sweet, wonderful, naturally funny, naturally loving and lovely guy. He makes himself vulnerable each time he is in front of an audience not because he manufactures that vulnerability, but because it is real. Mark wants our love and we love him for that. What I have learned through experience, and I am still in the process of learning, is that if I bring a sense of fun, a true love of the audience, and a lot of desire to make them laugh, I will eventually find my way to that end. If I am present, make real contact, and perform in what I call a relaxed state of concentration, wonderful things have the possibility of happening. Sometimes, the biggest key is staying out of my own way in order to create moments to which the audience responds most effectively. If I pay attention to the audience, I will know if they are responding well, and I will be equally aware of the times they are not responding well. But those especially magical moments, and they can be elusive, the ones where the audience is laughing like crazy, those are the moments I live for. It takes a combination of trial and error, of lots of experience, of being truly present, of making real contact, luck, and getting out of my own way to allow the magic to happen. And love.

Finally, what do you look forward to most about being part of “Amuse Bouche”?

I am honored to be a tiny part of the Festival, and I can’t wait to hear how the audience receives Wing-Man. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, I have a gig which prevents me from seeing Mark perform in September. It is the Big Apple Circus, my home for 25 seasons, and this will be my final season.

Barry, thank you for giving so much of yourself these past 25 seasons; you are truly one of the best in the business and New York has been lucky to have you as part of the Big Apple Circus!  I can’t wait to see Wing-Man tonight, not only to see Mark perform but to see your touches behind the piece.  I am truly honored that you gave us this interview and I hope that as your career takes you on new paths you check in with us again so that we can follow up with you!

For the rest of you, if you’d like to catch Wing-Man come out to:

~~~

.

Related Posts:

• Mark Gindick Explains The Serious Business Of Clowning Around
• Wing-Man Soars (Amuse Bouche – NY Clown Theatre Festival)
• The Extraordinary Fall of the Four-Legged Woman: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• CHALK: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Naked Brazilian – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)

Papi holds Pretty Big (Pretty-n-Papi featuring Leah James Abel & Olivia Hallie Lehrman (Photo by Dana Reichma)

In Pretty-n-Papi (written by Leah James Abel, Cody Schreger, and Olivia Lehrman) Ms. Pretty Smart is pretty ready for her pretty man to walk into her life, but things aren’t looking that bright for this girl in the love department so she decides to start online dating, why not! Haunted by a radio commercial of “Princess Charmony,” she surfs the web on her ginormous macbook and creates a profile, username: PrettySmart. Princess Charmony (played dare I say charmingly by Rebecca Houlihan) hooks up our poor Ms. Smart with loser after loser in search for the man of her dreams, someone she can grow old with and eat pickles dunked in Fluff.  Maybe she needs to rethink her ideals? No worries, there are enough fish out in the sea; or I should say in the audience as her dates are forcibly and uncomfortably picked from theatregoers who are just looking to watch a show.

It seems the days of just connecting from your seat, making sure you turn off your cell-phone and keeping quiet are over. The “now” thing (or should I say “retro” thing) is to be part of the action. The fourth wall is smashed into a million bits to the extent that one of the actresses shoves carrots into an audience members mouth. Once the audience is interrogated by Ms. Pretty (played with spunk by Olivia Hallie Lehrman), she reenacts what her life would be like if she ended up with one of these bad connections.

All three actresses are very skilled at showcasing their comedic and physical talents but the show ends up being messy. The actresses do their best at not tripping over used props on the floor and at transitioning smoothly from one scene to the next, yet without much success. Sadly the underdeveloped material and staging of Pretty-n-Papi is not up to par with the superior cast.

Although Pretty-n-Papi was not my cup of tea, I’m sure Princess Charmony will keep trying to match them with their ideal audience.

~~~

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 runs February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

Related Posts:

• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Pretty-n-Papi
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• The Happiest Medium Is Partnering With FRIGID New York Festival 2011
• CHALK: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)